Computer history can be divided into five "generations." Before the electronic computer, there were other devices made to help people calculate (or compute) information. The abacus is thousands of years old in one form or another. In the early 1800s Charles Babbage designed a machine called a "Difference Engine" which was never built.
The first modern (or electronic generation) of computers began in 1945. Computers of this era were huge beasts which used vacuum tubes. ENIAC and UNIVAC are two examples of computers from this era.
The invention of the transistor brought about the second generation of computers. Computers thus became smaller and more efficient. The second generation of computers also saw the advent of programming languages, such as FORTRAN. Previously, all programs had to be written in binary code (0s and 1s).
The third generation of computers was made possible by the invention of the integrated circuit. Computers again became smaller and more powerful.
The fourth generation of computers includes what we think of as computers today. This generation has brought about the personal computer and a greater use of microprocessors throughout society. One of the earliest events of this era was the creation of PONG, the first commercial arcade game by Nolan Bushnell, who co-founded Atari. The first personal computers (of the later 1970s) include the TRS-80 model I, Apple II (and Apple I), Atari 400 and 800, and Commodore PET and CBM. These were all "8-bit" computers, meaning they could handle 8 0s and 1s at once.
With the advent of 16-bit computers in the 1980s, personal computers became much more powerful. Examples of 16-bit computers include the Apple Macintosh, Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM compatibles. The computers you are sitting at, either Power Macintoshes or iMacs, are the latest generation of the original Macintosh. The first Mac was released in 1984. Most of our Macintoshes have been made in the past one to three years.
The fifth generation of computers is hard to define. It includes all computers of the future. People often think that these computers will include voice recognition and greater "artificial intelligence" (electronic thinking). You will have the chance to think about what computers of the future look like as part of this assignment.
Here are the eras to which your groups are assigned:
Group 1: 1945-56
Group 2: 1956-63
Group 3: 1964-71
Group 4: 1970s-early 1980s
Group 5: mid 1980s-present.